Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 34 The Prison Bully's Terrible Guidance

Liu Bei was imprisoned.

This time, the level of imprisonment is much higher than that of his predecessor.

Luoyang Prison is different from the prisons of the Six Ministries. This is the Imperial Prison, a central prison specifically for holding important figures.

Those who could enter Luoyang Prison were either sent there by the Court of Justice or by the Commandant of the Capital Region. The prisoners inside were mostly involved in serious and important cases that often concerned the safety of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bei, on the other hand, was probably the one with the lightest crime among them.

However, it also involved the safety of the Han Dynasty—Liu Bei held the garrison commander of the North Xia Gate of Luoyang under his control for nearly half an hour, which obviously had a significant impact on the safety of the Han capital.

The specific impact was that the Northern Commandant was replaced that very day, and the capital of the Han Dynasty is now much safer.

Luoyang Prison had a unique characteristic: everyone who had served time there but didn't die was able to get a new official position, and the vast majority of them were promoted...

The Central Prison does not actually hold past crimes accountable, because there is no need for it.

After all, another characteristic of Luoyang Prison is that none of the criminals inside have a fixed prison term; they are all considered to have been sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve.

In fact, the main purpose of this prison is to torture and extract confessions. If you confess, you will usually be sentenced to death or your entire family will be executed. If you don't confess, you will either be sentenced to death with a reprieve or released without charge.

Therefore, not recruiting is relatively more advantageous...

However, if they don't confess, they risk running into prison bullies.

In fact, most of the cells in the imperial prison were separated, and to avoid collusion, each person was in a separate cell.

However, there were also large cells for multiple people. For example, important figures who were not easy to torture not only lived in large cells, but also had servants.

Liu Bei is now serving the important figure Wang Meng, the Junior Chamberlain of Yongle, with utmost care and diligence.

"Young Master Wang, are you alright?"

Liu Bei looked at Wang Meng with a humble expression and concern.

The main concern was that I might hit him too hard and kill him.

"Do you know who my father is? How dare you treat me like this! Oh dear..."

Wang Meng lay on the ground, one hand protecting her face and the other protecting her groin, her legs kicking backward.

“I know, he’s a eunuch. But the problem is… I feel like Prefect Wang doesn’t seem to know who your father is.”

Liu Bei's forced smile at this moment looked very much like Gongsun Zan's.

"You dare insult me? Believe me or not, your whole family will be... Hey, hey, don't, don't step on that..."

Wang Meng wanted to say something harsh, but it's usually hard to be ruthless when being bullied by the prison bully. Liu Bei's foot was in a rather dark spot.

"Prefect Wang, you are now guilty of treason. Treason... You are an official, you should know the consequences. Do you think you still have a chance to retaliate against me?"

Liu Bei decided to stop fighting; if they continued, he might really lose his voice.

"Hmph... Since no one's handcuffing me, I'm sure I'll be able to get out..."

Wang Meng turned her head away and stopped looking at Liu Bei.

Do you really believe that someone will bail you out?

Liu Bei smiled sinisterly: "When I was convicted, I thought my elder brother would bail me out, but he didn't. Instead, he wished I would die soon..."

"That's because your brothers aren't getting along..."

Wang Meng remained unmoved.

"Are your brothers on good terms with you... Ha, you're just godparents, they're not your blood brothers. I've heard that the Prince of Wang has quite a few concubines, and there must be quite a few people coveting them..."

"They're probably just waiting for you to die so they can take over your house, sleep with your wife, and beat your kids..."

“Besides, your father and you are not blood relatives… Wang Shaofu, the evidence of your treason is conclusive, and according to the law, your entire clan should be executed.”

Liu Bei shook his head and looked at Wang Meng: "Although this matter may not be a big deal to your father, he is unlikely to risk openly making an enemy of the Commandant of the Capital Region to get you out of prison. After all, it's not him who went to the imperial prison..."

Wang Meng remained silent.

He knew Liu Bei was right, but he was helpless and could only wait for his godfather to show mercy. This was a frame-up by the Commandant of the Capital Region, a vicious struggle; in other words, whoever saved him would be the enemy of Commandant Yang Qiu.

There aren't many people willing to provoke Yang Qiu... He's a ruthless official who'll stop at nothing and dares to bite anyone.

Would Wang Fu be willing to pay such a high price to save his godson?

Wang Meng herself knew that the chances were slim.

"If I were you, I would find a way to get the people who can really handle this to come in and share the burden... We need tall people to hold up the sky, otherwise the sky will collapse, don't you think?"

Liu Bei shook his head and chuckled.

"What do you mean?"

Wang Meng felt like she understood something, but she didn't really understand it.

"it means……"

Liu Bei rubbed his fingers together: "If you're willing to do something, I'll tell you what I mean."

"You're still so greedy in this prison! You can't even get out yourself, yet you want to give me advice?"

Wang Meng turned her head away, ignoring Liu Bei.

"Haha... My crime is just assault. As long as I pay the ransom, I can leave. The emperor loves money, and Yongle Palace loves money too. You, Wang Shaofu, know this better than anyone."

Liu Bei continued rubbing his fingers: "That's why I asked you for money in the first place. Don't blame me for hitting you earlier. Who told you to ignore me in the first place?"

"Hmph, I have to go out to earn money for you... You go first."

Wang Meng sized up Liu Bei and decided to listen to his report first.

"Wardens! Jailers! Come here... Go to this young master Wang's house and have his family bring money to atone for my sins. You can ask them for whatever amount you want..."

Liu Bei approached the prison bars and began to shout.

Outside the prison were, of course, Yang Qiu's black-clad guards, who came over cooperatively upon hearing the voice: "Young Master Wang, what do you have to say?"

"you!"

Wang Meng swallowed her anger: "Fine, your atonement money is no problem. Bring my family over, and I'll definitely give it to you."

"Why didn't you do this earlier? You ended up all injured, look..."

Liu Bei rubbed his hands together: "Well, let me tell you something... You see, you are guilty of treason now. Anyone who tries to save you will get into trouble, right? So no one can save you except the emperor."

"But what if your father were here with you now? Do you think the Emperor and your uncles and brothers would immediately come to your father's rescue?"

As Liu Bei spoke, he raised an eyebrow at Wang Meng: "People's statuses are different. Even if your father committed a heinous crime, as long as he has the emperor's favor, he will not fall. But you... are not yet worthy of the emperor's attention."

Wang Meng frowned, but didn't say anything.

"You should know that the Emperor would never kill your father under any circumstances..."

Liu Bei paused after speaking, then continued, "If you let your father come in and squat with you, everyone, from the Emperor to your sworn uncles and brothers, will protect him. Then... you can go out with him, right?"

"You mean... I should pin the blame on my father?"

Wang Meng frowned, feeling that Liu Bei's words made sense, but also that they were illogical.

"Your crimes are nothing to your father... At most, he'll be allowed to come in for half an hour, and then he'll be summoned back by the emperor."

Liu Bei scoffed: "But this kind of crime, which is nothing to your father, could cost you your life! Think about it yourself..."

Wang Meng remained silent for a long time, pondering, without saying a word.

They didn't even eat.

Several hours later, the voice of a black-clad guard came from outside the prison gate: "Young Master Wang, your family has arrived. Two million coins are needed to atone for this Liu Junwei's sins. But you cannot meet with anyone; you can only say whether you will give it or not."

"……Give."

Wang Meng looked up and lunged at the cell door: "I want to see Yang Fangzheng!"

(End of this chapter)